The Metal Voice recently spoke to former Kiss guitarist and solo artist Ace Frehley about his new album '10,000 volts' which was released on Feb 23, 2024 via MNRK.
Photo by Photo Credit: Jayme Thornton
Ace also spoke about Kiss' Avatars, his infamous interview on the Tom Snyder show, Kiss Alive studio touch ups and a lot more.
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When asked if '10,000 Volts' did in fact embarrass Gene Simmon and Paul Stanley at the end of the day?
"I think It did (laughs). Honestly I didn't try to make a great record just to show them up. It was ironic that the album got finished mixed and mastered around the time they were retiring. Which I don't believe is going to happen. I'm sure they're going to reform in one way or another or with different people. I think Gene (Simmons) already put together a band and has some shows happening in South America. But be that as it may you know I wish them all the very best and any of their new Endeavors because we're all Brothers in rock and roll and you know we created something really special. And believe it or not even though we argue and disagree you know we're still all friends."
When asked about touring with Rush when they opened up for Kiss in the 70's"
" I would say more times than not every night while we were on the road me and Peter and those three (Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart) guys would end up hanging out and uh doing stupid stuff. Alex used to put a bag over his head (with) a joint. Peter would get up and do his routine sometimes. I'd do some kind of silly routine. In those days when I was drinking I could rattle off 50 or 75 jokes nonstop one right after the other for some reason I can't remember them anymore. At one point in my life I wanted to be a standup comedian but it never panned out because I never had the time to do it."
When asked if he regretted quitting during the Creatures of the night era"
"I had already committed to leaving the group and I started looking for band members and stuff and jamming with other people. It was just too late. I had already made the decision because you know I could never trust those guys (Gene and Paul). I don't know what hair brain scheme they come up with. I mean if I was still in the band I would have never agreed to do these avatars. Something maybe kids would enjoy but I don't think a long time kiss fan is going to enjoy that stuff. I wish them well like I said good luck but you know in my humble opinion I don't think it's going to be a successful endeavor."
Photo Scott Braun- Braun NYC
When he spoke about the songwriting split on the new album between himself and Steve Brown
"Me and Steve (Brown) work well together. I got aggravated the other day cuz I heard that people were saying I didn't write any of the songs on the record and it was all Steve Brown. And then Steve he was doing (The Podcast) 'Three Sides of the coin' and he kind of confirmed that (by answering a question on the podcast) how much did Ace bring to the table? And he (Steve Brown) goes well, I pretty much brought about 97%. I was really shocked when he said that because that's not the case and I called him up and he apologized to me. He's a wonderful guy. I love him. You know he was so excited about the record and they were asking some questions that weren't rehearsed . He had no idea, so you know everybody sometimes toots their own horn a little more than they should sometimes without thinking. He was so excited about the record you know he made that statement but he admitted to me last night you know that that wasn't the case. We just decided no matter how much one of us brought to the table we were going to split everything in half. It's a lot easier doing it that way than because I don't need the money that bad and you know. I know Steve worked really hard because not only did he co-produce it but he engineered the whole record himself . And I didn't have to pay for an engineer so that saved me thousands of dollars. Whatever one guy brought to the table or the other guy it really didn't matter. To me, the most important thing is the end result. I sang lead on all of the songs I play guitar solos on 80% of the songs 75% a couple of solos that uh he came up with they were guide solos for me to copy and I said you know Steve those solos are so good let's just leave them. He goes well I don't want any credit you know, humble and I said I'm gonna give you credit because you know I like to give credit where credit is due. I don't want to take credit for your solo if I didn't write it so you know that's the kind of relationship we have. It really doesn't matter who came up with what first. I always end up ACEFYING it, that's right putting my stamp on it. you know you can't get away from my voice the many you hear my voice you know it say fly yeah that's for sure yeah and well thanks for seconding setting the record straight."
When asked if he believes in Aliens"
Yeah. I've seen UFOs multiple times. They've already done polls and more than 50% of the population believes in Aliens so I don't think it would be that big a shock. You know that whole thing about well if an alien ship landed somewhere and Aliens walked out everyone you know would throw off the idea of religion. I don't buy that. You know God could have created Aliens as well and on a different planet and they ended up making it here. It could have been the other way around. I mean for us to believe in a universe this size with billions maybe trillions of planets we're the only one that has life on it that's pretty ridiculous."
When asked about the rumour of him coming from planet Jendell"
"Oh my friend in high school came up with that and I just kind of used it once I became I used to Joke around when I was drunk. I go yeah I'm from I'm from planet Jendell."
When asked about Kiss Alive being touched up in the studio
"A lot of it was touched up, 50% of it. At least 50% was re-sung and replayed. I mean and I remember Eddie Kramer had Loops of tape going around microphone stands, going back into these 2inch tape machines and each one had three faders and they were dedicated to crowd response. One was really crazy (crowd response) one was mid Midway and one was more subtle. I mean if you listen closer to the album you can hear that it's faked. I didn't fake my live guitar solo that was real. I mean sometimes you sing off key a little in those days, we didn't have auto tune. So if Paul, Gene, Peter or myself sang something a little off, we'd re-sing it in the studio. We just wanted to put out the best product possible. Today in the studio that stuff like that is done without even a thought. So many groups today that are performing live and have backing tracks, not just Kiss, plenty of other groups and I don't want to name them because I know them and they're friends of mine. I rather not spill the beans I don't want to disappoint the fans but yeah I I there's a lot I know because I know everybody and I know engineers and guys who do sound for these bands and they tell me the real deal. It used to be like a big a big crime to do that I mean you remember when Milli Vanilli got like Boohed because they will found out they were lip synching. Things change over the years you know now it's accept it. I don't believe in having backup tracks because I'm too spontaneous."
When asked what was going through his mind on his infamous interview on the Tom Synder show
" I was drunk, I had done a little blow. So that kind of bounced me out. Everything I said in that show was all spontaneous nothing was planned. The plumber joke and all that stuff that just came to me at the moment. I'm a funny guy I just come up with ridiculous things sometimes. I'll be sitting somewhere and just start laughing because I think funny things in my head. They (Gene and Paul) disappeared, they never came over and congratulated me for doing a great show and being so hysterical. The only person who was knocking on my dressing room door was Tom Snider. He had so much fun he goes I gotta meet this guy. So I took my makeup off real quick and I invited him into the dressing room and we just started laughing and he goes you know you're a really funny guy and I said yeah I've been told that before. I was actually told that by John Belushi, a professional comedian. I was hanging out with John for, you know six to eight months prior to his passing. We got pretty close. We used to go on three-day Coke runs. I would always crack him up and he used to say to me Ace you one of the few people that can make me laugh you know he's a professional comedian. He just thought I was a character. He actually said to me before he left to get on the plane in California uh he said you're definitely going to be in my next film but that never happened but we know we all know what happened."
01 - 10,000 Volts 3:24
02 - Walkin’ on the Moon 3:44
03 - Cosmic Heart 3:54
04 - Cherry Medicine 3:40
05 - Back Into My Arms Again 3:36
06 - Fightin’ for Life 3:21
07 - Blinded 3:54
08 - Constantly Cute 3:39
09 - Life of a Stranger 3:58
10 - Up in the Sky 4:28
11 - Stratosphere 3:05
Those thundering riffs and singable solos have enshrined him as one of the most influential, inspiring, and impactful musicians of all-time. Simply put, rock ‘n’ roll and heavy metal wouldn’t sound, look, or feel the same without him. Among hundreds of accolades, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® inducted him in 2014 as a Co-founder and the original lead guitarist of Kiss. Guitar World named him in the Top 15 of its “100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time” and plugged the lead from “Shock Me” on the “50 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time.” Magnifying the imprint of his catalog as a solo artist, Foo Fighters cut a fan favorite cover of “Ozone,” and he even jammed out “New York Groove” alongside The Roots on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The late Dimebag Darrell of Pantera proudly sported a tattoo of Frehley on his chest, while Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine celebrated him on X/Twitter as “My first guitar hero.” Embedded in popular culture, he also, penned the New York Times bestselling memoir No Regrets, and packed venues everywhere on tour for decades.
However, the GRAMMY® Award-nominated Bronx-born legend continues to elevate and electrify rock ‘n’ roll with his tenth full-length solo offering, 10,000 Volts [MNRK Heavy].
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